Author's Note

I do not own the Dragonriders of Pern.

It was three days after the fall and the day of the second touching when R'ton finally returned to his place as Candidatemaster. He had been scored badly down his neck and Ritilia guessed shoulder too, and wore in left arm in a sling, but he still stood tall as he addressed them.

"This clutch will be the first one to Hatch after that Fall. Everything needs to go perfectly. Losing even one dragonet between because they can't find a rider or are stopped from finding one would be disasterous, and seen as a bad omen. For the girls, even if you don't want to stand for Gold, it is imperative that those two Queens – three, if the small egg Hatches – hatch safely and find riders."

It was strange. This was the future of Pern. They were the future of Pern. Maybe there was a reason so many… odd candidates had been brought in, candidates like Yariel and Dorasa, or Yornam, or Sakura and her sisters, or Cataeliana and Ketielean, or Luna with her silvery hair and eyes.

Maybe it was fate.

Maybe the dragons knew, somehow, that something was coming, so they found strong candidates, gifted candidates, unusual candidates, for their next clutch.

They knew they would be needed for the battles ahead.

Where did that leave her then? Because she wasn't talented like them, she wasn't strong, or clever, or even remotely beautiful. She was just… her.

Ritilia ran a hand through her hair and tugged at it gently as they were led down towards the Hatching sands where the eggs lay hardening. Maybe there was a reason, too, for the odd looking eggs.

Again, Weyrwoman Jalenna was to take them out to the sands. She looked more sombre than the last time, her face lined and drawn into a strict expression.

"When you are on the sands, there are to be no arguments or disagreements. Everyone has the right to see every egg, and none of them can be endangered."

A murmur of agreement ran through the candidates. They understood how vital this clutch was.

"If you're standing for gold, follow me."

Most of the girls were, though there was a handful hoping only for green. They followed the Weyrwoman down the tunnel and filtered out onto the sand. Nareth was there, huddled over the golden eggs and a few of the bigger plain ones, including the enormous one one of the boys tried to lay claim to the last time. Ritilia had heard it being said that the great Senior-Queen – now the only Queen – had refused to leave the sands since the Fall three days ago, doing nothing but guarding and huddling over her eggs. Sirena curtsied neatly to her and followed her mother into the bowl. Kuyaran was permitted too, though the Queen rumbled a little, her eyes whirring red. Revina got the same treatment. Then Kimberlee tried to follow. The great Queen bellowed, forcing the girl to spring back away from the very large teeth that were suddenly very close to her. The Weyrwoman hurried over. "Nareth! You, girl, what did you do?"

Kimberlee shook her head. "I didn't, I swear."

Jalenna stroked Nareth's leg. The Queen dragon growled furiously. Kimberlee courtsied down low. It didn't help. Ritilia edged back towards the entry tunnel, safely away from the very big, very angry dragon. It seemed the best course of action right now. A few of the others, Tummi, Mary Sue, Lily and Luna, seemed to have the same idea, backing up into the tunnel. A few others, Dorasa, Mia, Yornam and Rasia were taking Kimberlee's idea of curtsying low to the dragon. Neither idea was very helpful.

"Calm down! You know they have to see the eggs!"

Nareth roared, slamming her tail against the spectator stands. Baliose huffed. "This is ridiculous. Can't she send her away or something?"

"It's her clutch; she has a right to be here and say who sees it," replied Brizala. Baliose scowled.

"Well, I say it's stupid."

"Do you want to argue with an angry Queen dragon?" Ritilia asked primly.

Evidently Baliose did not, as she waited while Weyrwoman Jalenna calmed her dragon and curtsying to her when her turn came. The girls made their way across the sands to the two great gold eggs. Ritilia ran her hands over the shell of the smaller one.

What had she done to deserve the magnificent hatchling inside?

There were so many other girls here more worthy of one of those inside. Sirena and Dorasa most notably. Maybe Mia, or Kuyaran, or Lily or Rasia.

Who was she?

Nothing compared to them.

She couldn't organise the candidates or fight Thread, she couldn't save the world, she couldn't be clever or beautiful.

Why would one of these precious baby Queens choose her when they could have one of them?

There were other dragons though, other colours. Girls could impress Greens. And in a clutch this size, there were going to be plenty of them. Ritilia closed her eyes and kept her hands on the egg for a moment before releasing it and stepping away. What sort of Queenrider would she be anyway? Better that she Impressed a Green and had less responsibility. Slowly, Ritilia moved away to look at the rest of the clutch.

Sirena seemed to be distracted from the Queen eggs. She hadn't even approached them after passing Nareth, instead stopping by the smaller eggs that had been shoved to the side of the grounds. The Weyrwoman tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at the two large golden eggs. "The Queens are over there honey."

Sirena sighed, running her hand over the shell of one of the small eggs before following the Weyrwoman over to the twin golds.

They spent thirty minutes on the sands with the two large gold eggs, and the smaller one, which the Weyrwoman directed them to look at.

"There's a good chance it won't hatch, but if it does, it will be a Queen and one that will still need a rider and be needed for the future of Pern."

Only a few of the girls, notably her own sister, Baliose, and the new girl, Tallyera or whatever stupid name she had, scorned spending a few minute with the tiny Queen egg. Rasia sat beside it and stroked the shell.

Once their time with the Queen eggs was up, those there as only Queen candidates were led from the sands and the boys allowed on. They quickly filtered out across the sands. The boys new to the Weyr gaped at the sight of the eggs, while the nine boys transferred from Igen gaped at the size of the clutch. Sirena had returned to the small eggs at the edge of the sand and was sat stroking the shell of one. Kuyaran joined her. "What's the deal with the tiny eggs?"

"They're eggs too."

"Everyone wants to see you with one of the Queens."

Ritilia didn't hear what Sirena said in reply to that, as she she had moved too far away by that point.

Cat and Ket had made a beeline for that large egg, which was now near Sirena's small ones, and were knelt beside it. One of them (Ritilia wasn't ashamed to admit she wasn't sure which) had their ear pressed to the shell. That platinum blonde boy who liked to do a lot of bragging (much like the Ranking boys from her hold) swaggered over. "Move along, this one's to be my bronze."

Neither twin moved.

"What are you doing anyway? Putting your head as close as possible won't help you steal my bronze," Platinum sneered. The one standing stared at him with those blank hollow eyes of theirs. The most emotion Ritilia had ever seen from them had been when Cat collapsed on the sands the last time.

"We're listening."

"Listening to what?"

"The whispering."

"Freaks," muttered Platinum, striding away to look at the other large egg boys were saying was a bronze. Ritilia stopped by the twins.

"What whispering?"

"Oh," said one of them.

"She can't hear it," said the other.

"That's sad for you."

Ritilia decied Platinum had the right idea in leaving them to it.

By the time she had made a full circle of the bowl, Platinum had returned to the twins with three large boys in tow.

"Move it freaks. You've had long enough with my egg."

Nareth growled softly. Sirena sprang to her feet. "Dralyoco, you know full well that attitude's probably why you never impressed at any of the last three Hatchings."

He laid a hand on the large egg. "I never impressed because my dragon hadn't been shelled yet."

"It's not your dragon," said one of the twins.

"It doesn't whisper to you," said the other.

Fuck they were weird.

Ritilia was sure they were there for longer than the first time, but that made sense since there were more of them now, and the eggs were more developed. People were saying it wouldn't be long before the eggs hatched now, maybe less than two weeks.

That was scary.

In less than two weeks, her fate would be decided.